The California Golden Bears are off to their best start of the season since the 2016-17 season. After Cal's win in Miami (FL) on Saturday, they improve their record to 16-6 and 4-5 in conference. This road win comes just three days after a devastating loss against a struggling Florida State team.
California has not earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament famously known as "March Madness" since the 2015-16 season, a team that featured the third overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft and NBA Champion, Jaylen Brown. Besides the following season, where they finished 23-12 in 2016-17, each season since then has resulted in a losing record for the Golden Bears. This year, California is excitingly giving their fans reason to believe them again.
So, what has changed?
Mark Madsen took over as California's head basketball coach in 2023, a season where they finished 13-19, an incredible improvement from their horrid 3-29 season the year prior. Last year California finished with a 14-19 record after losing in the ACC Tournament, their inaugural season in the conference. Madsen has brought in significantly more competitive recruiting classes along with a vision his players can believe in.
Additionally, the Golden Bears have found success in the transfer portal. This year Coach Madsen was able to land gems in the portal, one of which was Dai Dai Ames, an in-conference transfer from Virginia. Ames leads the team with 16.8 points per game and has been shooting lights out this season. Another guy that Cal was able to snag in the portal was Justin Pippen, who is the son of NBA legend Scottie Pippen. Justin transferred from Michigan, where he averaged just over a point a game as he saw action in 28 games, but started in none. This year he has appeared in 19 games and has started in each one while averaging an impressive 15.1 points per game. John Camden has been another crucial addition to this year's team. Camden is now playing with his fourth school after stints at Memphis, Virginia Tech, and, most recently, Delaware. Camden is bringing a veteran presence to the Bears in addition to averaging just under 14 points per game.
The Blueprint to March
With already 16 wins through 22 games, including most of their toughest games out of the way, the light at the end of the tunnel is very much in sight for California. With the exception of No. 22 Clemson, who sits at 8-1 in the ACC, there are no remaining opponents on Cal's schedule that have a winning record in conference play. The Golden Bears will have to stay strong down the stretch and cannot let their long-term goal distract them from taking one game at a time.